by WCT, The Ship of Fools
“Calling You Out!” is a periodic segment where WCT takes people to task for irresponsible journalism, foolhardy activities, or just general douchebaggery. Nothing is sacred, no one is spared, watch your ass mister! You could be next!
Today - A group of utterly classless fans
Those that know me, know that when it comes to the NBA, I am partial to the Cleveland Cavs. No, I did not jump on the bandwagon during the "LeBron James Renaissance," I have (unfortunately) been cheering for the Cavs since the days of Mark Price, Craig Ehlo, and Hot Rod Williams, back at the old Richfield Coliseum. So in terms of the Eastern Conference, that's where my loyalty lies. In terms of the Western Conference, I have just been watching as a casual fan. But now I know who I will be cheering against.
First lets take a step back. Without a doubt, the story of last season's Western Conference playoffs was the emotional roller coaster endured by then-Jazz guard Derek Fisher. During the second-round, Fisher was forced to leave the team to be with his infant daughter, who had been diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer. After his daughter's condition improved to the point where her life was no longer in immediate danger, Fisher left his family, flew back to Salt Lake City, came directly to the arena, rejoined the team in the middle of a game, and hit a key 3-pointer in an overtime win.
During the off-season, it was determined that Fisher's daughter would need more treatment to fight her cancer, and Utah simply did not have the facilities that she needed. With that, Fisher asked Utah management to let him out of his contract so that he could go to a team in a bigger market with better medical facilities. As a result, he returned to the Lakers last summer, and his daughter began taking treatment in L.A.
So how did Utah Jazz fans respond, when Fisher returned to Utah (coincidentally, exactly a year to the day from his heroic return in the '07 playoffs) with the Lakers for game 3 of this year's Western Conference Semis? They booed him. They booed him when his name was announced with the starting lineups, they booed him when he was on the free throw line, and they booed him the first few times he touched the ball early in the game. Nice.
So I don't know about you, but for the foreseeable future, I will be cheering against the Utah Jazz. Not because of anyone on the team (although I'm not crazy about Carlos Boozer, but that's a whole other story), but because I think their classless, callous fans don't deserve to have a winner. I'm not saying that they have to give the guy a standing ovation every time he scratches his butt, but would it kill them to boo the other 11 Lakers and just sort of give Fisher a pass?
Monday, May 12, 2008
CALLING YOU OUT! - UTAH JAZZ FANS
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
24 HOURS ON HARDWOOD 2.28.08
by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm
Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln, How Was The Suns Game?: That clicking noise you hear is Steve Kerr feverishly trying to hit the reset button. Sadly for him, what's done is done. And what's done is the death of the Phoenix Suns. Barring a dramatic reversal, the Suns four year run at a championship is over, and Steve Kerr gets to fit the bill. The latest signal of their doom? A 120-103 demolition at the hands of the Hornets. Chris Paul had 25 points and 15 assists. Which ain't bad, if you like that sort of thing. Amare Stoudemire has been questioned a lot in his career, but at this point, he's the only one left on the Suns leaving everything out there. He had 32 and 14. That should be enough to win. But not when the Suns have no perimeter defense whatsoever.
Okay, So Maybe The Trade Wasn't THAT Good: LeBron got his 10,000th career point (earlier than anyone in NBA history), but his new merry men couldn't overtake the cerebus. The Celtics got 18, 11, and 5 from Kevin Garnett who looks like KG again, and cruised to a 92-87 victory. His Highness actually left in the first half with an ankle injury before returning to lead his team to... absolutely nothing. Ben Wallace had 6 points and 6 rebounds. That's a smart investment, right there.
Basketball Porn: Utah won 103-95. Deron Williams had 14 and 14, and Okur had 24. None of this tells you how great of a game this was. After being down by 15 late in the third, the Jazz stormed back to pull within range, and then Mehmet Okur took over against his old team. Memo hit 3 three-pointers in the final three minutes, scoring 11 in the fourth quarter. It was a back and forth barn burner in the end, punctuated by Paul Millsap's beasty 19 points and Rip Hamilton's clutch shooting. We wish the NBA would go to a no-conference playoff system so we could see a 7 game series between the Jazz and Pistons.
Elsewhere: Bibby celebrated his first home game with the Hawks by beating his old team by 6. Jason Richardson scratched his cornea (OW) and joined Gerald Wallace on the shelf, which was the only way the Knicks were able to get a win. The Bull pulled off a win against the Pacers thanks to the hot shooting of Larry Hughes. Yes, you read that correctly.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
24 HOURS OF HARDWOOD: 2.7.08
by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm
The Death Of Fun Has Been Greatly Exaggerated: The Suns came out without Shawn Marion on their roster for the first time last night. They still scored 130 points (granted, in double OT). They still ran. And they still lost. The Hornets, led by Chris Paul's redonkulous 42 points and 8 steals, fought off the Suns time and time again, before Peja landed an improbable turnaround, fadeaway bucket with time expiring to lead the Hornets to a 132-130 win. They have swept the Suns. Clearly, the Shaq trade has made Phoenix completely unable to score points, run the break, or succeed in an basketball related matters.
Okay, They May Lose A Game Or Two. Maybe: In a shocking turn of events, Pau Gasol's trade to the Lakers has not resulted in the Lakers winning every contest to infinite. Experts are shocked by this, as the combination of Gasol's touch and passing ability and Kobe Bryant's uncanny ability to score all the freaking time was expected to create a maelstrom of greatness never before seen on this Earth. However, last night, Josh Smith did what he does, fill a stat sheet so full the numbers are leaking out the edges like a dead hooker in a mattress, and Joe Johnson created a crucial turnover on Kobe Bryant with 8 seconds left to lead the Hawks to a 98-95 win over the Lakers. But seriously. They won't lose again. 4 Real.
You Can't Stop The Jazz Hands, Man: So, get this. The most important trade of the NBA Season? May turn out to be Kyle Freaking Korver going to the Jazz. Korver's been insane for Utah so far, and last night was no exception. Scoring 27 points, including the game winning 4 free throws, Korver lead the Jazz to a 118-115 win in overtime over the Nuggets. The Jazz have won 16 of 18 since Korver was traded from Philly. Utah now sits above all in the Northwest Division and have claimed the vaunted "hottest team in the league" status, which will inevitably lead to their destruction in the second round of the playoffs. But still, Kyle Korver!
Elsewhere Around The Lizzy: Dirk popped his triple-double cherry against Milwaukee in a big win. San Antonio annihilated the Wiz without Caron Butler. New York lost. Again. This time they got beat by Kareem Rush, who wasn't in the league last year, and who I used to buy Chick-Fil-A after in college. Seattle beat Sacramento, because the whole world's gone mad.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
24 HOURS ON THE HARDWOOD: 2.5.08
by HP, Hardwood Paroxysm
Hell Hath No Fury Like Like The Mavericks After Getting Their Ass Handed To Them: Note to self: Do not play Dallas Mavericks the day after they get the shit kicked out of them on national television. Dallas came out of the gates against Orlando, went back, blew the gates off, picked up the gates, beat the crap out of the Magic with the gates, then set fire to the gates and made the Magic eat them. Dallas led from beginning to end in a 107-98 win in Orlando. Dirk had 20 and 9, Terry had 20, and Josh Howard led the Mavs with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Strangely enough, Dwight Howard also scored 28 points, also had 7 rebounds, also had 3 assists, and also very badly wanted Dirk Nowitzki to cut that mane of his.
Now Would Be An Opportune Moment To Point Out That The Jazz Are Gonna Get You, Sucka: You remember when the Hornets were unstoppable? Yeah, that was fun. Utah, winners of 9 straight and currently the 4th seed in the West smoked the Hornets by 22, behind Deron Williams' 29 points, 11 assists. The Hornets have dropped 3 straight, and look completely lost all of a sudden. Boozer tossed in 19 points and 17 rebounds. Jannero Pargo led the Hornets with 24. That's a bad sign, if you can't tell.
Oh, Hey, What's Up? Yeah, I'm Still The Answer, Thanks: Allen Iverson hit the game winner with less than a second on the clock in overtime, then traveled back in time just to watch himself hit that shot and masturbate to give the Nuggs a 105-103 win over the Portland Trailblazers who's trail is not quite as blazing as it once was. Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 26, 7, and 8, while the Lithuanian sensation, Linas Kleiza added 15 for the Nuggets. Portland is now 4-6 in its last 10.
If Only Games Ended After A Half: The Suns came out sluggish, fell behind to the Bobcats, led by only 3 at the half, then in the second half, whipped out the threekkake on the way to a 118-104 win. Raja Bell had 7 three pointers for the Suns, who shot 44% from the arc. The Bobcats, who were without G-Force Gerald Wallace and any real sense of hope for now or the future, were led by Jason Richardson with 25. Their bench, much like my mojo Freshman year of college, was non-existant.
We'll Spot You 15, Cool?: The Sixers went on a 15-0 run in the first quarter. They led 32-14. Then Josh Smith did the happy dance all over their mothers. Smith had 9 blocks to go with 19 points and 9 assists to carry the Hawks (Ka-kaw!) to a 96-91 win. Andre Miller led the Sixers with 29 points and 4 turnovers. The Hawks celebrated with a bitchin' Pizza Hut party that Josh Childress' mom threw afterwords. Only, not at all.
These Things Will Not Shock You: The Heat, Knicks, Timberwolves, and Sonics all lost to middle of the road teams. Which is easy when you're a "left of the road, drowning in your own feces in the gutter" team.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
TOP 10 WAYS IN WHICH ANDREI KIRILENKO'S TRADE DEMANDS JUST DON'T MEASURE UP
by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool
10. Back and forth calls to Mormon sports talk radio just don't get the same kind of media coverage
9. Instead of committing (alleged) sodomy on a teenager in a resort hotel that led to a ruinous divorce settlement, AK got permission for yearly "road games"
8. When AK fights with the coach, the coach wins
7. Instead of running off the dominant big man in this era of NBA history, AK could only grease the skids for DeShawn Stevenson
6. In Salt Lake City, he could probably go on a 3-day killing spree and not be noticed, or find someone to kill
5. Most NBA fans have trouble telling him and Mehmet Okur apart
4. Kind of hard to care too much about trade demands for a guy that can't stay healthy
3. Fantasy basketball players are just not that big of deal, really
2. Jazz fans know that, for all of his protestations, Andrei could never leave the exciting cultural scence and strong tolerance of alternative lifestyles
1. Try as he may, AK is just not a total freaking loon
Friday, September 21, 2007
THROWING KNIVES: SLOW FRIDAY
by BD, Sports Show On Mute
It's a somewhat slow sports morning so I'm lacking as far as big topics go. Fear not though captain cubicle I've got a bunch of little stuff to lob at you. I think just about everyone thought Texas A&M was a borderline Top 25 team at best. But, I'm not sure anyone expected them to get completely waxed in the Orange Bowl last night. The score was a lot closer than the game and after watching that I can't imagine what the Sooners are going to do to the Aggies (11/3). Am I the only one who found it refreshing that the Yanks and Sox had the night off? The NL East is back to 1.5 games as the Mets comeback in the top of the 9th and then blow it in the bottom half. They'd eventually lose in the 10th. The Phillies made a comeback of their own to knock off the Nationals. On tap for tonight? Oklahoma covering against Tulsa and assorted baseball games. I know their nothing more interesting than the Texas-Baltimore series taking place in Arlington. I still have no idea who Giorgia Palmas is, but I'm guessing she's a model. (Send all link submissions for the weekend editions of TK here.)
It's Over, It's Over!!! (Yeah, right)
Could I really be referring to anything other than SpyGate? The NFL has destroyed all of Darth Belichick's material. Now, I think we all know this is far from over after Brian Billick pulled the cheating card (like the race card, but not) on Eric Mangini this past weekend. I'm just hoping every Monday morning it's a race to see who can lob accusation's first. Next thing you know only Tom Coughlin will be free from accusations and his success will start to make sense.
T.O. Is Clever
Whether we like it or not T.O. is the king of media. The only true challenger to his crown is Ocho Cinco and despite my preference for Chad. T.O. is still the top WR personality in the league right now. This is mostly due to his villainous persona. Many of us love to hate T.O. but let's face it... we really don't. Anyhow, on to the reason I'm writing of T.O. in the first place. Yesterday, after being slapped with a $7,500 fine his mocking of SpyGate in the end zone on Sunday. T.O. gave us this: "I'm like [Bill] Belichick,"Owens said. "I misinterpreted the rules." Is that classic or what? Fantastic stuff from the ultimate antagonist as usual.
The fine, however, is questionable at best. When you consider Johnson , he of the positive persona, used a prop to celebrate a touchdown last week. While Owens used the ball and while I'm unsure if he can use the ball as a prop or not. It's really moot if you ask me. I enjoy Ocho and his antics but if your going to fine Owens because he took a swipe at a league wide controversy and claim he broke the "No Fun" rules. Then you have to fine Johnson for using a prop as well. Sorry Rog, you've got to hold everyone responsible for their actions. Not just the guys you don't like.
The Whole Kirilenko Trade Thing
From what I can gather Andrei Kirilenko has requested a trade from the Jazz. There's been a gluttony of rumored deals that the Jazz have balked at to this point. I've seen one explanation for the Jazz's disinterest in dealing their disgruntled star. That reason? They don't want to set a precedent for dealing players who don't get along with their coach. Somewhat of a silly reason. Especially if the Jazz can actually get someone like Jamison or Marion. I know Marion is almost a lock to walk out the door next summer, but it's something at least right? They can't have a mopey Kirilenko playing like he did for most of last season as he ended up hurting the team more than anything else. We'll see where this goes. My guess is the Jazz stand pat and Kirilenko puts together another season like he did last year. Or, things get a whole lot worse if they don't respect the Russian's wishes.
Manny Lawson Tears ACL
49ers Sophomore linebacker Manny Lawson tore his ACL in practice yesterday and will miss the rest of the season. This is a pretty big loss for a young defense that had looked quite good the first two weeks. I'm not sure who will be filling Lawson's spot in the starting lineup but I have no doubt the drop off is significant.
Bucks Match Heat's Offer Sheet To Charlie Bell
This situation is about as retarded as they get. The Bucks spent the summer letting Bell sit around and wait. Just when Charlie got what he wanted in an offer from an NBA team outside of Milwaukee the Bucks have roped him in again against his will. Hopefully someone else ups the ante and Bucks let him walk, but I wouldn't count on it. (I told you it was slow....)
Scoreboard - September 20th - 2007
NCAA Football
Miami 34, (20) Texas A&M 17
MLB National League
Colorado 9, Los Angeles 4
San Diego 6, Pittsburgh 3
Philadelphia 7, Washington 6
Florida 8, New York 7 F/10
Atlanta 3, Milwaukee 1
Houston 18, St. Louis 1
Cincinnati 4, San Francisco 2
American League
Kansas City 3, Chicago 0
Baltimore 6, Texas 3 F/10
Los Angeles 9, Seattle 5
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